1)"Building with nature"
Pune Times of India ,Tuesday, July 31, 2001

2)"Aiming high"
Pune Mid day ,Saturday, May 26 ,2001

There are structures other than those made up of cement and mortar that interest structural engineers Santosh and Madhu Sabnis. And these go by name of Himalayas.
 So smitten is the couple with the Himalayas, that they have been reduced their professional work and set up an adventure firm, Saahas.com
which specializes in leisure adventure activities This summer , the couple and their partner Mr.Kedar Gogte led a group of 79 Pune Mumbai enthusiasts, which included a three year old toddler and a senior citizen, all the way to the picturesque Parvati valley in the Kulu Himalayas.
 The group trekked a total of 36 km in little under one week to reach an altitude just short of 12,000 feet.This took them to several picture postcard locations like Kasol, near Manikaran; Dogri,on the banks of the river Parvati. Grahan a village of weavers and shepherds and finally ,surrounded by snow-clad peaks.
The scenery energized the participants so much that 37 participants even scaled the Khauli Pass, the approach to which involved a steep climb of 2,800 feet in a short two kilometer distance.

This passion later found expression in the hills of the Sahyadries. However, today it is the opportunity to introduce little children to nature that drives the Saahas trio of Santosh, Madhu and Kedar Gogte the most.
 Says Santosh,whose two children Nishad (12) and Riddhi (4), are also part of the trekking brigade, "The outdoors are the best way to wean children away from the television and cyber cafes" We are trying to tell people, both young and old , that nature can be enjoyed in a nice and easy manner.
The Saahas team, which has recently left for the Valley of Flowers with a team of senior citizens, is now planning for the year ahead.

------------Rahul Chandawarkar

Leisure adventure also meant that the trekkers were treated to a multicuisine menu at each camp, which ranged from Punjab to Chinese to South Indian to Gujarati. Not just that ,but the trekkers were housed in comfortable alpine tents that could house four persons.
A normal day would begin with bed tea at 5.30 am,followed by a sumptuous breakfast at 8 am. Thus fortied, the trekkers would walk for nearly five hours before reaching the next camp. a welcome drink and some high altitude exercises later, the trekkers would either go and visit a picturesque waterfall, play volleyball or even fly kites! Of course, as Santosh says "Impromptu bhel puri parties were also high on the agenda." Nights would see camp fires followed by dinner. Creating this type of excitement comes easy for Sabnis couple, who took to trekking at their almamater, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai.

A Staff Reporter

A group of 79 enthusiasts from Pune, including a handful from Mumbai, successfully completed an 8-km trek in the Parvati valley in Himachal Pradesh.
The striking feature of this trek was that most of the participants were trekking in Himalayas for the first time and were between the ages 3 to 60.
The base camp was at Kasol, near Manikaran, and in four days of actual trekking the group reached a total altitude of 3,500 ft. from the base camp.Out of the group, 37 participants successfully scaled the Khauli Pass-the approach of which was a steep climb of 2,800 ft. in just under 2-km distance.

Saahas.com a City based organization, specializing in Adventure Tourism, in technical collaboration with Holiday Moods-Delhi, had made all arrangements for the trek which was a 12-day program from Pune to Pune.

Santosh Sabnis and Kedar Gogte -partners of saahas.com said that thier main motive is to introduce kids to the Himalayas by means of a leisure trek. Trekking brings children close to nature and saahas.com sees it as a powerful tool to wean children away from TV and other luring attractions like Internet.

The treks are also designed for grown ups who long to go nearer to nature, but feel apprehensive about thier capability to trek. Senior citizens, even at the age 70, who have successfully completed these treks .

Picturesque camp site freshen your mind and body and enable one to take part in the various activities like rappelling,as well as rock and boulder climbing, say the organizes.

To top it all, there were colorful four-man alpine tents to make the stay more cozy. Saahas.com plans to take up many such assignments in future - in the Himalayas and also in Sahyadries.

The cost of the trek was RS. 8,950 for adults and RS. 7,200 for children below 12(Pune to Pune) This included all travel -either by 2x2 bus on road or by II ND class A/c on rail, and also transit accommodations in New Delhi with sumptuous vegetarian food all along. To make the trek comfortable, strong specially designed sacks and sleeping bags were provided.

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